Excitement in the air as Daytona Cubs prepare for start of season

Tuesday

Apr 2, 2013 at 9:25 PMApr 8, 2013 at 4:08 PM

The Daytona Cubs had their first workout at Jackie Robinson Ballpark Tuesday in preparation for the upcoming season.

BRIAN LINDER STAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH -- As new Daytona Cubs manager Dave Keller finished the job of moving into his office at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon, the locker room around the corner from him sprung to life.

A boom box on top of a locker blared out country tunes non-stop -- save for the moment a latin-style dance song managed to find its way into the rotation.

That might have had something to do with 6-foot-4, 225-pound outfielder Jorge Soler whose locker seemed to be situated under the boom box. Then again, it was kind of hard to tell exactly where Soler -- a 21-year-old who defected from Cuba in 2011 and signed a nine-year, $30 million dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs -- was supposed to be because he seemed to excitedly shuffle around the room, showing off a playful side in the progress.

Soler was not the only one excited.

It was in the air Tuesday, the first day that the Cubs worked out together at “The Jack” for the upcoming season. The team will host Embry-Riddle in an exhibition at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday. Thursday night brings the season-opener, a 7:05 home game against the Brevard Manatees.

As Soler worked his way around the room, outfielder John Andreoli quietly went about the business of putting his locker in order. Andreoli, who led the Florida State League with 75 walks and 55 stolen bases last year, is one of 12 players returning to Daytona's roster from a season ago.

“We have a tremendous roster," Andreoli said. “With the lineup that we put together the last couple days of spring training, we are going to put up a tremendous amount of runs this year."

Soler, the organization's third-ranked prospect according to Baseball America, will be right in the middle of the lineup. But he might not even be the most coveted player on Daytona's roster to start the season. That distinction could belong to Javier Baez -- a 20-year-old shortstop with Major League Baseball's logo tattooed on the back of his neck -- who is ranked as Chicago's top prospect by Baseball America.

The ninth pick in the 2011 draft, Baez hit .188 with four home runs in 23 games with Daytona last season. But he was a star in spring training, hitting .298 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. That does not include a two-homer showing against Japan's World Baseball Classic team.

Mix in Dustin Geiger, who hit 17 homers with 53 RBIs in 75 games last season, and Andreoli could not help but smile when talking about the type of offensive firepower the Cubs figure to have.

The possibilities had Geiger, a graduate of Merritt Island High, grinning as well.

“During spring training it was fun,” he said.

Keller, Triple-A Iowa's hitting coach in 2012, will be in charge of the power-packed lineup. It will be his first managerial position since 1996.

“The crazy thing for me is that I have never really seen very many of these kids play because of the levels I have been at the last couple years,” Keller said.

“Watching the players play, I'm kind of in the same boat that everybody else is. I've heard so much about these guys, but I only got to see these guys play for two days. I got to see them Saturday and Sunday, so I'm excited to get a chance to watch them play everyday and say this guy does this and this and this.”

And Andreoli said he and his teammates can't wait to give their new manager the chance to do just that.

“I'm on the edge of my seat to get it going,” he said. “It is finally here so let's roll.”